‘The Office:’ Ready to unleash my pent up anger, here I go

Talk show host Conan O’Brien has this saying, “Funnyman be funny.” My little TV show isn’t very funny anymore.

I watched “Launch Party” twice. The second time I wasn’t as repulsed as I was after “Dunder Mifflin Infinity.” While “Launch Party” was a near turd, I still wouldn’t recommend it to an “Office” virgin.

There are some things the last two episodes have gotten completely wrong.

The biggest? Why is Michael so angry? He’s had outbursts before (“Gay Witch Hunt,” “Business School”), but the ones in the last two episodes have been way out of character. Anyone can say or do things that are out of character. For Michael, the reclaiming of the gift basket at the risk of compromising a potential client and the kidnapping are going too far. Michael usually responds to unfavorable situations not with anger, but with humor. Albeit, bad humor. But that is his style.

This criticism is aimed at the second and third episodes. The season premiere, “Fun Run,” was a masterpiece. Since that incredible start, every thing’s gone crap-tastic.

Another glaring flaw is the lack on new ideas. Three episodes into the season and we’re being force fed the same situations: Kelly and Ryan, Dwight and Angela, Sprinkles, Dunder Mifflin Infinity. What makes the show move from week to week is the freshness of it all. Sure, Dwight and Angela have been a recurring theme since we saw them hook up at Jim’s party. But every episode since has been focused on them. Same goes for Ryan and Kelly and situations in general. We are given a break. Even with Pam and Jim, there were episode here and there that really didn’t move that storyline along.

For example, they can base an entire episode on Ryan starting a fire and we don’t hear a reference to it until the next season, not the VERY NEXT episode.

It feels like in these first three episodes we are watching what happened at the Scranton branch on consecutive days, and not a best of the best type diet that we’ve been accustomed to. As crazy and twisted as this office is, every day is not a hoot. Right?

There were some funny moments:

• Jim signing Meredith’s cast.

• Witnessing Pam and Jim’s first prank as a couple

• The pizza dude, who really saved the episode for me, “He’s (Dwight) that farmer that has really crappy weed.”

There were two moments of pure brilliance:

• Dwight’s reaction to Dunder Mifflin Infinity’s IM conceding Dwight as a superior being. There were all sorts of things happening there. That was Pam trying to cheer up Dwight after knowing he had overheard Angela ask Pam to set her up. Instead, the message had the opposite affect, because Dwight would have wanted so badly for the praise to come from Angela and not a computer. Have we ever seen a character on the show in their most triumphant moment look so defeated?

• And Andy, “They say you’re not supposed to mix business with pleasure. Well then explain to me how a putt putt golf company operates.”

I’m frustrated because “Fun Run” was perfect. How they could follow up perfection with two turds, I don’t know.